The invention relates generally to skin analyzers and more particularly to skin condition analyzers with audible and visual outputs.
Measurements of a person's skin condition can be useful in various fields, one of which is the application of cosmetics to the skin. Numerous types of cosmetics are available; however, their successful use in many cases depends on the person's skin type or condition. To aid the consumer in this regard, the cosmetics industry has adopted several standardized indices characterizing skin condition. One such index classifies skin condition into four categories: "dry", "dry/normal", "normal/oily" and "oily". Another index classifies skin condition into three basic categories: "dry", "normal", and "oily", and if the measured skin condition crosses two categories, an additional category labeled "combination." Consistent with these indices, some cosmetics manufacturers place labels on their products that indicate the particular index being used and the category each product is designed for. Thus, a proper determination of the skin condition of the person can be important in obtaining the appropriate cosmetics product.
To make an accurate determination of a person's skin condition, a variety of factors should be considered including the general condition of the skin, its degree of moisture balance, the texture of the skin, the skin's elasticity, pore visibility, and facial creases. These factors should be taken into account at several locations on the face including the forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, chin, jaw, ears, throat and hairline. Additionally, skin tone has been found to affect the determination of skin condition. The production of sebum and melanin, which affect the moisture content of the skin, appears to be affected by the skin tone.
In addition to the physiological factors noted above, it has been found that environmental factors may also affect skin condition and should be considered in making a skin condition determination. Environmental factors commonly define what is known as the human "comfort level" and may alter the skin condition during the time that it is undergoing condition analysis. For example, the air temperature and relative humidity may significantly alter the moisture content of a subject's skin and should be taken into account when making measurements. These effects are discussed below in more detail.
Skin condition also varies depending upon the particular location of the face being considered. It has been found that the glands that secrete the most oil onto the face are concentrated in the center of the face, most often around the nose, forehead and chin. These specific areas together commonly comprise what is referred to as a person's T-zone. The skin condition at these locations may differ substantially from the skin condition at other locations of the face. If one were to select a cosmetic product based on this area of the face alone, that product may not be as suitable for other areas of the face. Thus, it would be desirable to consider other locations of the skin in the determination of the proper cosmetics for application to the subject.
Devices that assist cosmetologists and others in measuring the moisture content of a subject's skin for the purpose of selecting the proper cosmetics for that subject have been available. While prior devices have been introduced that can measure moisture content, they often measure the skin condition at only one point on the face at a time as a "random" measurement. Thus, to get a composite analysis of the face, for example a person's T-zone, multiple measurements of the face must be made, with the separate results averaged manually by the operator of the device to obtain an overall skin condition. Manual calculations are undesirable because of the time required and inconvenience caused in performing them and the increased possibility of error. On the other hand, it is sometimes desirable to be able to make a single measurement at a single location of the face.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an analyzer that has the capability of both providing a skin condition result based on only a single measurement and of providing a skin condition result based on multiple measurements as desired. In the case of multiple measurements, it would also be desirable for the analyzer to automatically perform any necessary calculations and automatically indicate the complete result so that manual calculations are obviated.
Furthermore, it is desirable that skin condition analyzers have a high degree of versatility. As mentioned above, different manufacturers use different indices for skin condition with different categories within the indices. A skin condition analyzer that is capable of providing an output for only a single index may be unusable for the products of other manufacturers who use different indices. Purchasing multiple skin condition analyzers is one option, however costs may increase if different configurations are necessary. A single analyzer that has the capability of providing an analysis result for different indices through minor physical modifications and minor programming changes would provide an improvement in the art while maintaining lower costs.
Another drawback with prior skin condition measurement devices is the failure of those devices to consider the subject's comfort level in determining the skin condition. In particular, temperature and humidity may have a substantial impact and should be considered. In a department store, where the majority of such analyses take place, an air conditioning system, or lack thereof, may substantially affect the subject's comfort level. For example, the comfort level may cause the skin to become temporarily dry or at the other extreme, moist with perspiration. This occurrence can cause a resulting skin condition determination to be artificially high or low, giving an inaccurate reading of the true skin condition under normal environmental conditions. It would be desirable to consider the subject's comfort level in making a skin condition analysis so that artificial effects may be recognized and accounted for.
In addition to the problems discussed above, prior skin measurement devices, also have failed to provide a convenient communication interface for the operator. Conventional skin analyzers often include only a visual display to communicate the resulting skin condition measurement. This places a burden on the analyzer operator to not only visually monitor where the skin probe or probes are being placed on the subject, but to also visually monitor the result displayed by the analyzer. Visually monitoring the analyzer's display can be difficult in low light conditions depending on the type of display used and can also be difficult in high light conditions due to glare on the display. In addition, some prior analyzers do not indicate when a measurement is complete and the operator has to guess when the probe or probes have been applied to the subject long enough to complete the measurement. Removing the probe too soon will result in an incomplete measurement and possibly an inaccurate reading.
Thus, the need exists for a skin analyzer to provide audible indications to the operator of the progress of the measurements. In particular, the need exists to inform the operator that the sensing procedure at this particular skin location is complete and that the entire measurement process of this subject's skin condition is complete. Additionally, it would also be desirable for the analyzer to automatically make a recommendation of the proper type of cosmetic product to match the measured skin condition.
Skin analyzers may be subject to abuse in department stores and in other environments. For example, they may be dropped, the probes may inadvertently be shorted together, and liquids may be spilled on them. Additionally, it is highly desirable that such analyzers be made available at a relatively low cost so that their benefits be made available to as many people as possible. It is therefore desirable that in addition to being accurate, that such analyzers be robust and able to withstand abuse as well as have a relatively low cost.
Due to the existence of different languages between countries of the world and in many cases, the multi-lingualism within each country, it would also be desirable to have an analyzer that can provide its output in different languages. Providing a skin analyzer that can communicate its measurement in different languages while maintaining relatively low manufacturing costs can pose difficulties.
Hence, those skilled in the art have recognized a need for a skin condition analyzer having the capability of providing multiple sensing modes while compensating the measurements for environmental conditions. The need also exists for such a device having the capability of providing an audible output for communicating the status of the measurement process and the skin condition measurement result and recommending cosmetics products to operators who speak different languages while at the same time lowering manufacturing costs. There is also a need for an analyzer that is versatile enough to be easily configured to provide its analysis in more than one manufacturer's index. The invention fulfills these needs and others.